CLEVITE CB481P BEARINGS
In July 2013, coming back from the British Car Club Meeting in Sankt Moritz, the V8 of my Bristol 409 developed a worrying 'knocking' noise. I didn't expect that something could go wrong less than 8.000 miles after a full engine rebuild... I managed to get back to Bologna Sunday afternoon and took the car to Gordini's garage Monday morning. They removed the sump and found that three Clevite CB481P rod bearings were in this condition:
All the other rod bearings were in very good shape. Oil pressure and temperature were perfect throughout the trip and had always been before
I am frankly wondering why these Clevite bearings, reputed by many experts to be the best around, failed. If all the bearings had failed, I would understand that the lubricating system of the V8 had gone bonkers, but only this pair had this trouble; if there was a tolerance problem during the remachining of the crank, it would have failed when I drove 600 miles no-stop coming back from Goodwood, September 2011. The oilways looked clean and unobstructed and everything seemed to work fine until July 2013, so for me this is quite a mystery.
Needless to say, I am not discussing Clevite bearings' overall quality; allegedly these bearings are the best, and I trust the specialists recommending them. Anyway I sent a message to Mahle-Clevite asking for their opinion about what happened, and I am very interested in their answer not only as a private customer but also as a motoring journalist. I'll keep fellow Bristolians (and other Poly 318 users, of course) updated about their answer, informing other Bristol V8 owners about what happens to my car is the only reason why I write this site. And please stop overstating the obvious telling me that I have to remove the engine and rebuild the engine once again. I don't want to do it now, period.
